Tag: US department of labor

Climbing the corporate ladder: The ‘top executives’ in USA and the path to the top jobs
A job in the IT field or a small businesses ownership – when it comes to the favorite employment preferences of the Indian Americans, these are the two most common perception. The new generations of Indian engineers and medical professionals are crowding the US industries. The thrifty approach of first generation Indians over the decades continue to contributed towards successful family businesses as well well as upbringing of a highly educated second generation of American Indians.
One field where Indians have not fully caught up is the top executive tier of the US companies. While we continue to move into the middle class management, the success in the top tier jobs is not that prevalent.
One thing to keep in mind, there are only limited numbers of top executive jobs. There is only one CEO, CFO or COO in a company – large or small. There could be many head-of-department positions in larger corporations but the numbers are relatively small. So, this could be one of the reason for limited success beyond middle management; there are just not that many jobs for top executives and competition is fierce for this cream of the crop.

The ‘top executives’: A summary
Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (US Department of Labor), here is an insight into the American ‘top executives’:

2010 to 2020 US Jobs and Employment projections by race, ethnic groups and by age

Just like the US population, the American labor force is growing more slowly, becoming older and more diverse. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) study highlights the jobs and employment projections by race, ethnic groups and by age.

The labor force, in these stats, is composed of all persons 16 years and older in the civilian noninstitutional population who either are employed or are unemployed but available and looking for work.
Here are the key highlights (Click on the charts on the right for bigger image):

The civilian labor force is projected to reach 164.4 million by 2020, an increase of 6.8 percent.

The U.S. workforce is projected to become more diverse by 2020.

Among racial groups, Whites are expected to make up a decreasing share of the labor force while Blacks, Asians, and all other groups will increase their share (Chart 2).

Among ethnic groups, persons of Hispanic origin are projected to increase their share of the labor force from 14.8 percent to 18.6 percent.

The Asians are projected to increase their share of the labor force from 4.7 percent to 5.7 percent.

Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the total employment is expected to increase by 14 percent from 2010 to 2020. However, the 20.5 million jobs expected to be added by 2020 will not be evenly distributed across major industry and occupational groups. Changes in consumer demand, improvements in technology, and many other factors will contribute to the continually changing employment structure of the U.S. economy.

The underlying analysis (of BLS employment projections) uses currently available information to focus on long-term structural changes in the economy. This post examines the projected employment change within the industries:

Service-providing industries

The employment shift in the U.S. economy away from goods-producing in favor of service-providing industries is expected to continue. Service-providing industries are anticipated to generate nearly 18 million new jobs. As with goods-producing industries, growth among service-providing industries will vary (Chart 5 below).

Healthcare and social assistance: The healthcare and social assistance industry is projected to create about 28 percent of all new jobs in the U.S. economy. This industry—which includes public and private hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and individual and family services—is expected to grow by 33 percent, or 5.7 million new jobs. Employment growth will be driven by an aging population and longer life expectancies, as well as new treatments and technologies. Continue reading “US Employment forecast by industry: 2010-2020”

As the country struggles with high unemployment rate, more and more families are impacted by the current economic downturn. Here are some interesting facts from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (US Department of Labor) on family level employment in USA: Continue reading “Employment Picture for US Families”

The interesting facts below are based on a report from US Department of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their report ‘Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2008’ is compiled for the year 2008; however, the picture painted below is probably not far from what we have today.
Also, note that there is no separate category for ‘Indian Americans’; in this study, Indians are a part of the ‘Asian’ group. Here are the key highlights from the US Department of Labor report:

Occupation and industry:

Compared to Asians and whites, blacks and Hispanics are less likely to be in management, professional, and related occupations—the highest paying major job category.

In 2008, half of Asian men worked in management, professional, and related occupations, compared with only 34 percent of white men, 23 percent of black men, and 15 percent of Hispanic men.

Among women, in 2008, Asians were more likely than other groups to be employed in management, professional, and related jobs.

About 46 percent of Asian women were employed in management and professional occupation group, compared with about 41 percent of white women, 31 percent of black women, and 24 percent of Hispanic women.

Asians accounted for 5 percent of all employed workers but made up a much larger share of workers in several job categories, including computer software engineers (29 percent); physicians and surgeons (17 percent); and electrical, electronics, and electromechanical assemblers (18 percent).

Asians were over-represented in professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in leisure and hospitality.

Unemployment stats:

Among the major race and ethnic groups, Asians had the lowest unemployment rate of 4.0% in 2008. The blacks had the highest rate at 10.1 percent, 7.6 percent for Hispanics and 5.2 percent for whites.

The unemployment rates were 4.9 percent for white adult men and 4.4 percent for white adult women. The jobless rates for Asian adult men and women were 3.9 and 3.5 percent, respectively. However, the rates for black adult men and women were 10.2 and 8.1 percent, respectively.

Teenagers (ages 16 to 19) are especially vulnerable to joblessness. In 2008, black teenagers had the highest unemployment rate among the major race and ethnicity groups at 31.2 percent, compared with 22.4 percent for Hispanics, 16.8 percent for whites, and 14.6 percent for Asians.

Unemployed blacks have been jobless for longer periods than unemployed workers in other groups. In 2008, the median duration of unemployment for blacks was 12.1 weeks, compared with 10.2 weeks for Asians, 8.8 weeks for whites, and 8.4 weeks for Hispanics.

Education:

About 90 percent of blacks and Asians in the labor force had received at least a high school diploma, the same proportion as whites. However, only about 68 percent of Hispanics had completed high school.

Asians were most likely to have graduated from college; 58 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 34 percent of whites, 24 percent of blacks, and 16 percent of Hispanics.

For all the groups, higher levels of education are associated with a greater likelihood of being employed.

Individuals with higher levels of education generally have better access to higher paying jobs. However, at nearly every level of education, blacks and Hispanics were more likely to be unemployed in 2008 than Asians or whites. Go figure!

Making informed career decisions requires reliable information about opportunities in the future. Opportunities result from the relationships between the population, labor force, and the demand for goods and services. ~ US Bureau of Labor Statistics
The unemployment rate in USA is almost 10% – the worst in decades. A large number of well qualified individuals are desperately looking for jobs. Finding a job that you really like, and getting it, can be a challenging process.

This article provides a long term view of the jobs and occupation that are, and going to be, in high demand in USA. The information and data is based on the study from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. A wide variety of occupations are forecast to be in high demand. Among all occupations, health-care is forecast to make up 7 of the 20 fastest growing occupations.

“Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century.” ~ Perelman

Education is the foundation for any profession or a career. The skills acquired and the learning experience during education often determine the level of success for any individual. A study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of US Depart of Labor, lists the fastest growing occupations by the level of education and on the job training: Continue reading “Education levels for the fastest growing jobs!”

“Never turn down a job because you think it’s too small; you don’t know where it can lead” ~ Julia Morgan

The jobs are scarce in today’s economy. The good jobs are even harder to find. There is too much noise, too many misleading advertisements on dream jobs that don’t exist. Based on various sources including a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics division of the U.S. Department of Labor, here are the key resources for job search:

Personal contacts: Many of the job openings are never advertised. Talk to your friends, family, neighbors and others; tell them that you are looking for a job. They may be able to help with the new leads and even recommendations. Find ways to network and advertise yourself among peers and the community.

School career planning and placement offices: Placement officers in schools and colleges can be very helpful in finding jobs. They have lots of resources at their hands to help in this area including possible lists of open jobs, career counseling, aptitude testing and job search advice. Some of them also have career resource libraries and may host workshops on job search strategy, resume writing and effective interviewing.

Employers: One of the effective way to find reliable job openings is to go straight to the source. Contact the company or business directly. If an employer is on your wish-list, find out if they are hiring. Contact their HR department. Send them your resume and follow up; show sincere interest in working for them.

Classified ads: There are lots of commercials and advertisement about job openings. The main sources of classified ads include: